Overview

Grade Level: 4-6 Emotionally Disabled (Special Education)
Subject Area: Social Skills
Number of Students (average): 4
Years of Teaching: 1

Description

Answer the following questions as if you were giving advice to a student teacher.

How would I introduce a discussion of my approach to instructional design?			I would introduce myself and ask the student teacher to introduce him- or herself and tell me a little about their background and interests. I would briefly discuss the 4 elements of HEAT (Higher Order Thinking, Engaged Learning, Authenticity, and Technology Use.) I would also explain the concept of the constructivist approach that I try to promote in my classroom. In this approach the teacher explains the general question or problem that the class wants to tackle. Then, the students take over the learning by working as a team to brainstorm how they are going to solve the given problem. This includes the elements of form and structure as discussed in the Teacher's Alliance workshop. Behavior comes first in my classroom so I need lessons that can run on their own if I need to discipline a child who decides to go to the time out zone. I try to link math with science and reading. I also try to link social studies with reading, writing, math and science.
What are my resources for designing units and lessons?			I use specific curriculum for each subject for my special education students. Routine, consistency, and familiarity with the materials are very important to these students. They often have a difficult time with re-direction so it is important for them to learn how the content will be taught and what the expectations are. For example, I use a social skills curriculum that has 63 available social skills with more than 20 possible situations to role play for each skill.
What do I generally do first?			First, I decide how the results will be measured and I work backward from there. Generally I graph the individual and class data as related to social skills and behavior.
How do I interact with the standards?			I always have a comprehensive health and workplace skills paired with the academic standard since my classroom is a self-contained ED classroom. Additionally, if technology is included in the lesson I include a technology standard. These standards are posted in the classroom on a flip chart so that I can keep track of the dates when I touched on them and also so that I can flip through the chart.
What are my constraints and how do I respond to them?			These ED students tend to work longer at specific learning tasks if they are constantly busy. however, they need their down time as well, especially right before a transition. For example, right before lunch and right before the last school bell, I have the students find a quiet place in the classroom and I instruct them to close their eyes for five minutes while listening to relaxing music. Generally speaking there are two types of ED students: those who perform at grade level and those that perform far below grade level. Because of this, I seperate the the students into two groups. I have the aide in my classroom work with the higher level group on creating a K-W-L chart while reading out loud while I work one on one with the lower students on their reading or math skills. I make sure to have DIBELS reading fluency assessments weekly for the higher reading groups weekly and weekly math tests as well. After Direct Instruction, I have guided practice and then independent practice for the higher level students with enrichment activities available for those who finish first and remedial activities (and as additional homework) for those students who need more time to grasp individual concepts. 1/30/10 Some of my constraints in the beginning were that
How do I approach student assessment?			I try to think of student assessment first when creating the lessons. This way I can help the students meet the objectives of the standards. I like to have the student's correct their own academic work and get results of their work right away. The student's behavioral data is out in the open because we have a Level system. The students either move up, down or stay where they are on the level system depending on whether they 1) complete all of their assignments, 2) get all of their behavior points for the day (depending on which level they are on), and 3) whether or not they bring their homework in.
How do I approach post-assessment?			I generally graph the data and progress of the student's behavior on a daily basis. Graphs help me to look at trends in the classroom and to anticipate where I need to supplement the curriculum (for example, if the majority of the students aren't getting a certain concept then I need to pump up the lessons and include more hands on material or go over the material in a new and different/ innovative way.)
How do I approach self-assessment?			I meet with the school psychologist once a week or as needed to talk about new ideas she may have to supplement what I am already doing in my classroom. I keep anecdotal recordings of what works in my classroom. I have my aide in the classroom help me with this. I remind him to look for what works and to write down more positives than negatives. I ask him to note which learning style fits with each individual student. because we usually have only 4-6 students this is feasible. This way, we can look for patterns of things that do not work and try to stay away from these. Videos are a great way to practice self-assessment.
What are areas I would like to learn more about and/or become better at?			I would like to learn about more technology opportunities. I would like to keep records of my lesson plans in more organized binders with more comments about whether or not the lessons worked. I would like these to be organized by either month and/ or week.
What final advice would I give about my approach to instructional design?			Stay flexible. Be open to new ideas. Be honest with yourself about what works and what doesn't work. Don't be too hard on yourself. Give yourself time to grow as a teacher. Continue to progress. Go for professional development workshops. They work!